Your Home Finance
A default doesn't automatically stop you getting a mortgage.
Whether yours is satisfied, outstanding, recent or older, the right lender usually matters more than people think.
30+ years
defaults & adverse
Age & status
expertise
Specialist lenders
matched daily
FCA regulated
advice
How your case is assessed
How lenders assess a default
Lenders look at age, satisfaction, amount, account type, and what you've done since — not just that a default exists.
How old is the default?
Defaults age off impact year by year. A three-year-old satisfied default is a different conversation from one registered last month.
Satisfied or still outstanding?
Satisfied defaults open more specialist lenders. Unsatisfied ones narrow the panel and often need a larger deposit.
Amount and account type?
A utility default is read differently from a mortgage or large credit card default — context still matters to underwriters.
What has conduct looked like since?
Clean months after a default strengthen the case as much as the age of the mark itself.
You don't need to guess default lender criteria — we map age, status and the full file first.
Specialist insight
Not every lender treats a default the same way
Recent unsatisfied default
Higher challenge
Narrower specialist panel · larger deposit typical · mainstream scoring usually declines before anyone reads recovery.
Older satisfied default — clean since
More lender choice
Broader adverse specialists · clearer path when deposit, employment and recent conduct are strong.
Independent reviews
Verified client reviews on Reviews.io
Live verified reviews — not cherry-picked on-page quotes.
Loading verified client reviews...
Your adviser
Jay Sabine
Expert mortgage adviser specialising in complex cases including adverse credit, self-employed borrowers, and first-time buyers. All advice is tailored to your individual circumstances.
Content reviewed: 3 August 2026
CeMAP awarded by The London Institute of Banking & Finance. Cert CII (MP) awarded by the Chartered Insurance Institute.
Specialist in defaults and adverse-credit mortgages
Helping clients with complex credit histories for over 30 years · CeMAP, Cert CII (MP) · FCA regulated
“Recent payment conduct often matters more than an older default — people fixate on the mark and miss what lenders read next.”
Reviewed by Jay Sabine · Mortgage adviser · 30+ years' experience
Lived experience
Mistakes we repeatedly see
What keeps going wrong when defaults are treated as a single label.
Ignoring how old the default is
A small recent default can be harder than a larger older one — age often decides the tier.
Leaving it unsatisfied when satisfaction would widen choice
Many specialists treat satisfied defaults more favourably. Rushing first can be the expensive order.
Maximum LTV immediately after a recent default
Narrow panels at high LTV leave hard searches. Deposit and timing usually move more than hope.
Another high-street application after a score decline
Automation rarely changes its mind. Specialist packaging does.
Real client scenarios
How we've helped with defaults
Based on genuine cases we've helped with. Personal details have been changed to protect privacy.
Older satisfied default
- Satisfied
- ~4 years old
- 15% deposit
- Mortgage approved
Situation
Satisfied default from four years ago. High street declined on score. 15% deposit, stable job, no new adverse.
Challenge
Automation treated a historic mark as current risk — the recovery story never reached manual underwriting.
What changed
One specialist application with proof of satisfaction and clean conduct since.
Outcome
Approved where score-based lenders said no — age and satisfaction mattered more than the headline score.
Why it worked
Age and satisfaction reached manual underwriting — score engines never saw the recovery story.
Recent unsatisfied default
- Unsatisfied
- Recent
- High LTV asked
- Waited — then placed
Situation
Recent unsatisfied default. Wanted maximum LTV immediately.
Challenge
Lender set was too narrow at high LTV. Applying now would have left hard searches without a realistic path.
What changed
Satisfied the default, built deposit slightly, returned with a stronger file three months later.
Outcome
Waiting widened choice and improved pricing — one application instead of hopeful declines.
Why it worked
Satisfying and waiting widened the panel. One application replaced a hopeful decline trail.
What happens after you get in touch
From first contact to a clear answer
What happens when you get in touch — no hard search at this stage.
- 1
Tell us what happened (no hard search at this stage)
- 2
Jay reviews your circumstances
- 3
We discuss the appropriate route — honestly, without promising approval
- 4
If proceeding: Agreement in Principle → application → completion
Reassurance
- Free initial review — before any hard credit search
- We do not promise approval — we match honest advice to your file
- Wrong lender first hurts more than waiting — we guide the sequence
Before you enquire
What we'll ask you on the first call
Straightforward questions — no hard credit search at this stage.
- When the default was registered
- Approximate amount
- Satisfied or still open?
- Payment conduct since
Advisory promise
When we might tell you to wait
We won't always tell you to apply today.
We may advise waiting where a default is still recent or unsatisfied — and satisfying it (or a few more months of clean conduct) is likely to increase lender choice or improve pricing.
If waiting would meaningfully widen options, we'll say so and help you plan that path. We give advice — not just applications.
Straight answers
Common questions about default mortgages
Our promise
What we'll never do
- Tell you to apply if it won't work
- Send applications everywhere
- Recommend borrowing beyond your budget
- Hide bad news
We don't judge your credit history. We help you understand what's possible.
Find out what's possible
Tell us about your defaults and we'll assess what's realistically possible.
We don't recommend a lender until we've understood the age of the default, whether it's satisfied, and your conduct since.
Not every default is treated the same. A five-minute conversation can often save weeks of applying to the wrong lender.
£500 adviser fee — payable on completion.
Let's review your defaults
Free adviser assessment • No credit search • FCA regulated
We review your whole situation — CCJs, defaults, declines, all of it — before recommending a lender. No credit search at this stage.
Related guides
Not a default? Explore similar situations
If your file looks more like one of these, these chapters explain how lenders assess them.
CCJ mortgages
If a County Court Judgement sits alongside — or instead of — defaults.
Open guide →
Missed payments mortgages
If late marks came before a default was registered.
Open guide →
Declined mortgages
If high street already said no because of credit marks.
Open guide →
IVA mortgages
If defaults led into a formal IVA.
Open guide →